The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume IBalakāṇḍaEdited by Robert P. Goldman

This is the first of seven volumes of a translation of the Valmiki Ramayana, the great Sanskrit epic of the life of Rama, ideal man and incarnation of the great god Visnu. This renowned work of ancient India has profoundly affected the literature, art, religions, and cultures of countless millions of people in South and Southeast Asiaan influence that is perhaps unparalleled in the history of world literature. Balakanda, the opening portion of this first translation to be based on the critical edition (Oriental Institute, Baroda), is presented here in a compact volume without the section of notes that appears in the hardcover book.

More about this book

Winner of the 2017 World Sanskrit Award, Indian Council for Cultural Relations

Famous Ramayana epic now in modern English

Robert Goldman sings from the Ramayana

Reviews

"Goldman has chosen a translation style that is simple, direct, and very close to the text, without being prosaic. He has avoided the twin pitfalls of preciousness and pedantry. The Ramayana, as he reminds us, is a poem in a sense we have almost lost touch with: intended to be heard, easily understood, chanted in a loose and repetitive meter that permits the lapidary phrase."--Edwin Gerow, Journal of Asian Studies